PLOS One
Social support, sleep, and pain key to older adult mental health
Clinical takeaway: Assessing and addressing social support, sleep, pain, and functional status may help identify older adults at risk for poor mental health and guide targeted interventions.
Mental health in older adults may depend as much on social and physical factors as on psychiatric disease. This study examined which factors are most strongly linked to well-being in later life.
Among 2,024 adults age 65 and older, social support was one of the strongest correlates of complete mental health, more than doubling the odds. Complete mental health was defined as the absence of a psychiatric disorder in the past year combined with frequent positive emotional, psychological, and social well-being.
Marital status, spirituality, fair or better self-rated health, absence of chronic pain and sleep problems, and preserved daily function were also associated with better mental health. Conversely, lack of social support, being unmarried, chronic pain, sleep problems, and limitations in daily activities clustered with poorer mental health. Prior history of depression, anxiety, or substance use disorder was also strongly linked to worse outcomes.
“Social relationships appear to be a cornerstone of mental well-being in later life,” said coauthor Shannon Halls, Research Coordinator, Institute for Life Course & Aging, University of Toronto.
Source: Rahim D, Halls SK, Jiang Y, Fuller-Thomson E. PLOS One. April 8, 2026. Flourishing older Canadians: What characteristics are associated with complete mental health?